The creepy landlord, pictured on the cover art for "13 Cameras," (aka "Slumlord" awful alt. title) has to be among the creepiest, realistic horror characters I've seen in a long time. The performance is minimal, yet highly effective. I don't want to play this up too much, but he creeped me out like Hannibal Lecter in "Silence of the Lambs." At times, he also reminded me of Jame 'Buffalo Bill' Gumb in SOTL. Plus, his head looks like it's full of puss and ready to explode. He's disgusting. And, he's not the only despicable character in this movie. Within minutes, I was hopping that the husband's head would explode before the movie's end.
Newlyweds, expecting their first child, move into a new home, in which the creepy landlord has just installed 13 surveillance cameras, which he uses as his private Porn Hub and more. Also, a-hole husband is having an affair, which is rapidly becoming another ticking time bomb. How are these combustibles going to destroy these lives? Watch and see.
All of the performances are very good and quite effective. So is the direction, and the over all production. So, why the one star reviews? I don't have a clue. Maybe they were expecting a primal gorgy. It is definitely not that. It is violent, but not very bloody. Or maybe they were expecting something as sophisticated as "Silence of the Lambs." Who knows. But this is not a 1 star movie.
The build up is slow yet deliberate, so this isn't a movie for any one expecting a violent action fest. The couple's drama and the violence are nicely integrated. The general direction that the story takes is fairly predictable, however it remains compelling throughout. Some may guess the end, thought I'm certain that most will not. I want to give a hint, but I will restrain myself. Watch it for yourself. If you enjoy good quality, low budget drama/thriller/horror, I think this will satisfy.
I'm giving it 7 stars out of 10, although if I was rating it based on the low budget thriller/horror sub genre, I'd probably give it 10 stars for surprising me so much.
